The present invention relates to a control device of an exterior rearview mirror, and more particular to a control device for automatically adjusting a view angle of the exterior rearview mirror.
When a driver is seated in a vehicle, he should adjust all of the interior and exterior rearview mirrors according to his need. The rearview mirror can be adjusted manually or automatically by pushing buttons. After the adjustment of rearview mirrors is done, the view angle of each rearview mirror seen by the driver is constant, and it is difficult and also dangerous for the driver to further change the view angles while driving.
In practice, when a driver would like to change to another lane or turn to another direction, he will need to realize more about the situation of the adjacent lane to see whether there is any vehicle oncoming. For a simple plane mirror serving as the exterior rearview mirror, the view angle is not wide enough. Therefore, a mirror consisting of two sections is developed to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 1. The two sections, for example, may be two plane mirrors 11, 12 deflected from each other (FIG. 1A) by a fixed angle, or one plane mirror 13 and one curved bump 14 (FIG. 1B). This kind of rearview mirror, although improves the view angle to some extent, still has the following disadvantages. First, the manufacturing and assembling processes of the two-sectional mirror are complicated. Further, the outer section of the mirror is generally small, so it is uneasy for the driver to watch it clearly, especially for the mirror at the passenger""s side.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device of an exterior rearview mirror, which can adjust the view angle of the rearview mirror automatically without touching any special buttons or keys.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a control devise for automatically adjusting a view angle of a rearview mirror of a vehicle, comprising: a turning detector mounted on the vehicle for generating a first triggering signal in response to a first turning operation of a user; a first drive circuit electrically connected to the turning detector for moving the rearview mirror along a first direction from an initial position toward a predetermined position in response to the first triggering signal.
Preferably, the control device further includes a first comparing unit for optionally generating a first drive signal in response to a comparing result of a variable voltage value varying with a first movement degree of the rearview mirror with a first reference value; and a first controlled switch electrically connected to the first comparing unit, the turning detector and the first drive circuit, and conducted to output the first drive signal in response to the first triggering signal, wherein the drive circuit moves the rearview mirror along the first direction from the initial position toward the predetermined position in response to the first drive signal.
More preferably, the control device further includes an outward boundary adjuster electrically connected to the first comparing unit for determining the predetermined position of the rearview mirror and thus pre-setting the first reference value.
In an embodiment, the control device further includes a second comparing unit for optionally generating a second drive signal in response to a comparing result of the variable voltage value with a second reference value; a second controlled switch electrically connected to the second comparing unit and the turning detector, and conducted to output the second drive signal in response to a second triggering signal generated by the turning detector in response to a second turning operation of a user, wherein the first and the second controlled switches are not conducted at the same time; and a second drive circuit electrically connected to the second controlled switch for moving the rearview mirror along a second direction toward the initial position in response to the second drive signal.
Preferably, the control device further includes an inward boundary adjuster electrically connected to the second comparing unit for determining the initial position of the rearview mirror and thus pre-setting the second reference value.
In an embodiment, the turning detector includes an indicator-light switch, the first turning operation is to switch on an indicator light, and the second turning operation is to switch off the indicator light.
In another embodiment, the turning detector includes a tire-angle switch, the first turning operation is to turn a tire to exceed a threshold angle, and the second turning operation is to return the tire within the threshold angle.
Under the control of the present control device, the rearview mirror can be automatically moved as a whole in response to the first triggering signal. Alternatively, a portion of the rearview mirror can be automatically moved in response to the first triggering signal, and another portion of the the rearview mirror remains unmoved.
A second aspect of the present invention relates to a control device for automatically adjusting a view angle of a rearview mirror of a vehicle, which includes a turning detector mounted on the vehicle for generating a first triggering signal in response to a first turning operation of a user; a control circuit electrically connected to the turning detector for generating a first drive signal in response to a variable voltage value varying with a first movement degree of the rearview mirror and a first reference value representing a first boundary position of the rearview mirror; and a first drive circuit electrically connected to the turning detector for moving the rearview mirror along a first direction from an initial position toward the boundary position in response to the first triggering signal and the first drive signal.
In an embodiment, the control circuit includes a first comparing unit for optionally generating the first drive signal in response to a comparing result of the variable voltage value with the first reference value; and a first controlled switch electrically connected to the first comparing unit, the turning detector and the first drive circuit, and conducted to output the first drive signal in response to the first triggering signal.
Preferably, the control circuit further includes an outward boundary adjuster electrically connected to the first comparing unit for determining the boundary position of the rearview mirror and thus pre-setting the first reference value.
More preferably, the control circuit further includes a second comparing unit for optionally generating a second drive signal in response to a comparing result of the variable voltage value with a second reference value; a second controlled switch electrically connected to the second comparing unit and the turning detector, and conducted to output the second drive signal in response to a second triggering signal generated by the turning detector in response to a second turning operation of a user, wherein the first and the second controlled switches are not conducted at the same time; and a second drive circuit electrically connected to the second controlled switch for moving the rearview mirror along a second direction toward the initial position in response to the second drive signal. The control circuit preferably further includes an inward boundary adjuster electrically connected to the second comparing unit for determining the initial position of the rearview mirror and thus pre-setting the second reference value.
A third aspect of the present invention relates to a control device for automatically adjusting a view angle of a rearview mirror of a vehicle, which includes a turning detector mounted on the vehicle for generating a triggering signal in response to a turning operation; a drive circuit electrically connected to the turning detector for moving the rearview mirror along a certain direction from an initial position toward a predetermined position in response to the triggering signal; an outward boundary adjuster electrically connected to the drive circuit for determining the predetermined position of the rearview mirror; and an inward boundary adjuster electrically connected to the drive circuit for determining the initial position of the rearview mirror.
A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for automatically adjusting a view angle of a rearview mirror of a vehicle. The method includes steps of presetting an initial position of the rearview mirror; presetting a movement condition of the rearview mirror; detecting whether a first turning operation on the vehicle is performed; and moving the rearview mirror from the initial position under the movement condition in response to the first turning operation.
In an embodiment, the movement condition is to rotate the rearview as a whole by a predetermined angle. Alternatively, the movement condition is to rotate a portion of the rearview by a predetermined angle.
In an embodiment, the first turning operation is to switch on an indicator light of the vehicle. Alternatively, the first turning operation is to rotate a tire of the vehicle to exceed a predetermined degree.
Preferably, the method further includes steps of detecting whether a second turning operation on the vehicle is performed; and moving the rearview mirror toward the initial position in response to the second turning operation.
In an embodiment, the first and second turning operations are to switch on and off an indicator light, respectively. Alternatively, the first and second turning operations are to rotate a tire of the vehicle exceeding and within a predetermined degree, respectively.